ISWI Newsletter - Vol.4 No.34
31 March 2012

I received the attached IAU newsletter courtesy of Dr Hans Haubold with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in Vienna. This issue is relevant to ISWI because on page 21 of this newsletter the "Abuja ISWI Resolution" (from UN/Nigeria Workshop on ISWI in 2011) is reprinted in full.

This resolution calls for the establishment of an International Center for Space Weather Science and Education (ICSWSE) as a way of institutionalizing the globally important activities of IHY and ISWI.

Accordingly, during a lavish ceremony (see attached group photo of the participants) near Kyushu University on 14 March 2012, the ICSWSE (pronounced "iku sei" for short) was officially inaugurated. This half-day ceremony was convened to commemorate and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of SERC; keynote speeches were delivered by Dr. T. Doi and Dr. H. Haubold, both with UNOOSA. Both speeches were broadcast live on the Internet (see ISWI Newsletter Vol. 4, No. 30).

Note: As of tomorrow, the name of "SERC" (Space Environment Research Center) changes to "ICSWSE" (International Center for Space Weather Science and Education) to reflect the fact that we wish to move our Capacity Building activities from a domestic stage to an international stage. With ten years of intense work with MAGDAS deployment, with IHY/ISWI support, with educating grad students, with ULTIMA establishment, with MAGDAS schools, and with space weather research, behind us, we are now ready to share that wealth of experience and know-how in a global context.

We seek your encouragement, support, and guidance, in our new endeavor.

(1) IAU newsletter 76 - March 2012 2.6 MB pdf, 24 pages, (click )

(2) Group Photo 14 March 2012, during SERC`s 10th Anniv. Celebration 420 KB pdf, 1 page, (click )